6: Retain-Release Decisions

This final chapter discusses two crucial decisions that every organisation has to make: retain or release employees. Employers face the puzzle of keeping (retaining) employees or letting them go (release) but often have to find a solid financial justification to keep an employee. As an expensive asset, the workforce is technically a cost to the organisation if productivity is not at least at par with the investment in human capital. Generally, most organisations retain employees as long as rules are adhered to and performance is above average; however, there are times when the opposite decision has to be made to release an employee either individually or as part of a group.